5' Rotary Mower on a 424 OK?

[DieselMachine]

Hey all, just got done mowing with a friends King Kutter 60" mower behind my 424 and it performed great. Didn't get into extremely thick brush, mainly just kochia standing anywhere from 1-3' tall. Never bogged down and the engine just hummed along. Following this I looked up these mowers on King Kutter's website and it shows that it is rated for a 40 hp tractor. Any reason the 424 with it's 24 hp motor shouldn't run this deck?

 

[TomSeller]

Hey all, just got done mowing with a friends King Kutter 60" mower behind my 424 and it performed great. Didn't get into extremely thick brush, mainly just kochia standing anywhere from 1-3' tall. Never bogged down and the engine just hummed along. Following this I looked up these mowers on King Kutter's website and it shows that it is rated for a 40 hp tractor. Any reason the 424 with it's 24 hp motor shouldn't run this deck?

Ratings that I saw on the Northern Tool site said 40 HP rating and 40 HP required. If 40 HP is the maximum for the gearbox they probably just copied it over to required. In reality if you can spin the PTO to 540 RPM, lift it with the 3 pt and it doesn't bog down when you cut, I would not worry. They can bog down in heavier stuff easily so watch for that is all I would say.

 

[airbiscuit]

I had a John Deere 850 (24hp Yanmar engine) and it ran a 5' Kingcutter just fine.

 

[Tractorable]

My 8N with ~23 PTO hp runs a 5ft Bush Hog Squealer alright. It has a gear box rated for up to 45hp. In very thick grass it can bog the tractor down and potentially stall it, but it gets the job done. With an HST tractor it's a non-issue because you can slow down, unlike my 8N.

 

[rockyridgefarm]

The KK's are a lightweight build. So, it should be a good matchup.

 

[DieselMachine]

And the 24 hp tractor mowed through the brush in the photo!? If so, whoa! I not even testing my rig... (directed at airbiscuit)

Thanks for the responses everyone, having the right tool for the job makes life so much more enjoyable. Mowing weeds with the old JD 185 was a dirty dusty chore that left a super thick layer of mud caked to the deck, which in turn created another chore....cleaning it all out.

 

[airbiscuit]

Actually those trails were made with this (15hp Shibaura)!

 

[LD1]

A lighter 5' cutter will be just fine

 

[Ray Knight]

I run a 60" brush hog on my 424 and it cuts like a beast! No issue at all. Go for it.

 

[Jam242ti]

My dealer recommended the 60" when I purchased my 424 rotary cutter combo this winter. The 60" was only $232 more and cut slightly wider than the tractors width. I went with the 48" because of the amount of trees and tight spots on my property so far no regrets. I did spend the extra money for the upgrade to the medium duty instead of the light duty. This thread begs the question what rotary cutter is "too big" for the 424? My dealer felt strongly that the 60" is the perfect size for the 324/424 tractor.